Good morning!
There once was a Reverend who stood up to preach a sermon about money. He began by saying, ‘Today, I want to talk about greed, but to make my point clear, I need everyone’s full attention. So please, I’d like all the people who are struggling with greed to stand up.’
After a long pause, only one man got to his feet. The Reverend said, ‘Brother, you are the only honest person in this congregation!’
The man replied, ‘Oh no, Reverend, I just didn’t want you standing up there all on your own!’”
Today we are looking at one of Jesus’ most unusual parables in Luke 16:1–15, the parable of the shrewd manager, alongside Paul’s words in 1 Timothy 6:6–16 about godliness and contentment.
At first glance, the parable is confusing. Why would Jesus seem to commend a dishonest manager? Is He telling us to be crafty and cut corners? Not at all. Jesus is teaching us about wisdom for eternity… a shrewdness that plans ahead, avoids traps, and invests in what truly matters.
And when we hold it together with Paul’s teaching about contentment, we see the sharp contrast between worldly wealth that leads to grief, and spiritual wealth that leads to life.
The story in Luke 16 is almost comical. A manager has been wasting his master’s possessions. He knows he’s about to be fired. So he calls in the master’s debtors and quickly rewrites their bills, reducing what they owe so that when he’s out of work, these people will welcome him into their homes.
Dishonest? Yes. Clever? Also yes!
And Jesus comments: “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly.” (Luke 16:8)
That’s the puzzle. Surely Jesus isn’t telling us to be dodgy? No. He’s saying: if worldly people can be that resourceful when it comes to temporary wealth, then how much more should God’s people be resourceful, wise, and forward-looking when it comes to eternal life.
As Proverbs 22:3 reads: “The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.”
Jesus is urging us not to be naïve. He’s calling us to be ‘practically wise’, alert to worldly dangers, use what we have for spiritual gain, and always planning for eternity.
[Understanding Spiritual Traps]
Paul warns in 1 Timothy 6:9–10:
“Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.”
Money itself isn’t evil. But when it becomes the thing we love and chase, it destroys.
A few years ago, a successful business executive was interviewed after losing both his marriage and his health. His story was that he was working 70 hours a week to earn more and more. But in the end, lost his family, friends, and nearly lost his life. He won the money race but lost everything else.”
That’s the trap.
I can relate to this. I have often sacrificed relationships for the boast of working hard. I have often measured my identity in the things I have or the places I have been, rather than in Christ. It is easy to seek security in things, or work, or people, but this is a spiritual trap and one that a shrewd Christian avoids.
[Using What You Have for Spiritual Gain]
Jesus says in Luke 16:9:
“Use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.”
He’s saying: use what you have… your time, your skills, your words, your finances to bless people and advance God’s kingdom.
There’s a Christian family I know who decided to live simply so they could give more away. For a season they cut back on luxuries, bought what they needed from Op Shops and with the savings they gave generously to fund overseas aid through World Vision. The motivation they had was that they would rather see lives changed for eternity than fill their house with things.
That’s spiritual shrewdness.
John Wesley once said:
“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can.”
[Seeing the Big Picture and Planning for the Future]
The manager in the parable thought ahead about tomorrow. We are called to think ahead about eternity.
Jesus says in Matthew 6:19–21:
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth … but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven … For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
The kids and I were watching TV yesterday when an Advert came on about superannuation. In it a child tells the adult that if they want a secure future, they need to have a good super fund. Bea looked at me and we both rolled our eyes! The advert might have been cringe but the concept of preparing for the future is still true. Many people in Australia spend years planning, investing, and preparing for their retirement. And that’s wise. But let’s be honest, eternity is a lot longer than retirement! Shouldn’t we be even more intentional about planning for forever?
Let’s ask ourselves some questions to assess whether we are investing for now or for eternity:
What does my calendar reveal about what I value most?
What do my financial choices reveal about my heart?
Do I really grasp how amazing eternal life with Christ will be?
[Worldly Wealth vs. Spiritual Wealth]
So, we know that the practical wisdom of a shrewd Christian helps them to evade spiritual traps (such as the love of money), helps them to use what they have to build the kingdom, and see the big picture, investing their time and energy for an eternal future. To encourage us to seek spiritual shrewdness; the practical wisdom that leads to eternal life, let me remind us of the stark contrast between the results of being a worldly shrewd manager to a shrewd Christian:
Worldly Wealth often leads to grief:
- Loss of family (relationships neglected)
- Loss of friends (money breeds suspicion)
- Loss of identity (defined by possessions)
- Loss of privacy (wealth attracts unwanted eyes)
- Loss of rest (always striving)
- Loss of hope (you can’t take it with you)
Spiritual Wealth brings true life:
- A deep relationship with God
- Rich, generous friendships
- A secure identity in Christ
- Patterns of rest and Sabbath
- A hope that stretches beyond the grave
Proverbs 11:28 says:
“Those who trust in their riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.”
I thinks C.S. Lewis put it beautifully when he said:
“Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you will get neither.”
So how do we live shrewdly, wisely, practically?
- Be alert to traps. Regularly examine your heart. Ask: “Where am I being lured away from God by money, possessions, or ambition?”
- Be generous. Give, not just from the leftovers, but your first fruits. Give not just money, but also time, encouragement, hospitality.
- Be visionary. Plan your life around eternal values. Set rhythms of prayer, rest, and service. Let heaven shape your diary.
As Paul urged Timothy:
“Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called.” (1 Timothy 6:12)
That’s what it means to be truly shrewd.
Jesus calls us not to be naïve but to be wise: to see the traps, to use what we have for eternal gain, and to plan for the big picture of eternity.
Worldly wealth promises much but delivers grief. Spiritual wealth gives us life that is truly life: relationship with God, secure identity, hope for the future.
So let us take hold of it. Let us fight the good fight of faith. Let us live with shrewdness, with wisdom, with eternity in mind.
“Lord God, you have given us every good gift. Guard us from the love of money, from the traps of greed and fear. Teach us to be wise stewards, to use what we have for your kingdom, and to set our hearts on eternity. Make us rich in faith, rich in love, rich in hope. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”